Pope at Mass: Christians without
joy are prisoners of formalities
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| Pope Francis delivering his homily at Casa Santa Marta (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis is urging Christians not to be ashamed of
expressing their joy of meeting God and feeling His closeness. He made the
exhortation at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta Tuesday morning, saying the Gospel
will only go ahead with evangelizers full of joy, a joy that also continues in
the family at table together with the Lord.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis took the inspiration of his homily from the
day’s First Reading, which speaks of the great joy with which David and all the
people of Israel were celebrating the return of the Ark of the Covenant to
Jerusalem following its capture.
Celebrating God’s nearness
The people felt that God was close to them and they
celebrated, the Pope said and leading the procession was King David who
sacrificed an ox and a fatling. He joined the people shouting, singing
and dancing "with all his might".
The fact that God was with them was the cause of their
celebration, the Pope said. David dances before the people expressing his
joy without feeling shy. The Pope said it is the spiritual joy of
encountering the Lord, of His return to the people. David loves the Lord,
and he is happy and joyful to bring back the ark of the Lord with dancing and
singing like all the people.
The Pope pointed out that we also experience this joy and
celebrate when "when we are with the Lord" in our parishes or
villages. In this regard, he recalled that at the time of Nehemiah, in
the Old Testament, people wept with joy when the book of the law was found, and
they continued their celebration at home.
Contempt of joy
Continuing David’s story, the Pope said that one of his
wives, Michal, Saul’s daughter, reproached him with contempt saying he was
dancing shamelessly like a vulgar, like one of the people.
The Pope described Michal’s reaction as contempt of “genuine
religiosity” and spontaneity of joy of being with the Lord. But David explained
to her that he was rejoicing in the Lord as the ark was back home.
The Bible says that Michal was punished for this and did not bear
children. Without joy in the heart, the Pope said, a Christian is not
fruitful.
Joyful evangelizers move forward
Pope Francis further explained that celebration is not only
expressed spiritually but becomes sharing. After the blessing, David
distributed to each person “a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat and a raisin
cake”, so that everyone could celebrate in their homes. "The Word of God
is not ashamed of celebration,” the Pope said, warning, at the same time, of
the danger of a joy that goes beyond limits, believing this is everything.
The Holy Father recalled his predecessor, Saint Pope Paul VI
in his Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi," saying “the
Gospel will not go forward with boring, bitter evangelizers”. “ It will only go
forward with joyful evangelizers, full of life.” The Pope thus urged for
the joy of receiving the Word of God, the joy of being Christians, the joy of
going ahead, the ability to celebrate without being ashamed and not being like
Michal, formal Christians, prisoners of formalities.
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